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were told, at the l>c^innin^ of tlir hcarinnf, liad l)cen adopted, turns out to be 

 imprartic-nlilo, for sliallow seines alarm and frighten away the fish. The seines are 

 not made shallow to aerommodatu themselves to the waters of the Gulf. Year by 

 year they are made loiijjer and deeper, that a aeho(»l of fish may he more suceess- 

 f'llly enveloped hy them. Then there must also he mueh better iishing; in the Gulf 

 than has existed fo"* several years past. It has been going down in value every year 

 sines the Treaty went into effeet. It has got down to an average, by the Port 

 Mulgrave returns (I mean l»y the portion of the returns whicii we have) of 125 

 Imrrels a vessel this year, and aecording to the verbal statement of the Colleetor of 

 Port Mulgraxe, lOS barrels is quite up to the average. If any one takes the trouble 

 to go through the returns we have put into tiie ease, and analyze them, it will appear 

 that lOH iiarreis is (piite as large as the average this year. Some vessels have come 

 out of the (iidf with nothing at all, and svime with hardly anything at all. In the 

 next plaee, in order to induee Ameriean ve.ssels to go for maekerel to the Gulf of 

 St. I..awrenee in any considerable numbers, maekerel must have an oetivc market, 

 at remunerative prices. There must be a difierent state of things in the United 

 States in that respect, from what has existed for many years past, for by allaecounta 

 the demand has been declining, and the consumption has been diminishing for ten 

 years past. 



Without stopping to read at length the testimony on that point, there are two 

 or three of the Uritish witnesses who in a short compass state the truth, and to 

 their testimony I wish to call your attention. Mr. Harrington, of Halifax, page 

 4'20, says, in answer to the question. "There lias not been as mueh demand for 

 mackerel Irom the United States for the last five years as formerly ? " " Not so great." 

 And in reply to the question, "There must i)e an abundant supply at home, I 

 suppose r" lie savs, " I slioidd say so, unless the people are using other articles of 

 food." Mr. Noble, another llalil\i\ witness, page 4-'(), being asked the same ques- 

 tion, says, " I think foi' the past two years the demaiid for miickerel has not been 

 quite so good its before." .Mr IIiekson,of liathuist, is asked this question," Kresh 

 fish are vcrv rapidly taking the place of salt mackerel in the market, and the 

 importance of salt maekerel and other cured lish is diminishing more and more every 

 year, is not this the case? " His answer is, "That is my experience in my district." 

 "And owing to the ex tension of the railroad system, and the use of ice cars, pickled, salt, 

 and snuiked fish will sle.idily become of less eonsecpiencer" '• Certaiidy." Mr. Janies 

 W. IJigelow, of WoHville, No\a Scotia, on page :J2."1 of the Ibitish evidence, states 

 very ein|(hati(ally the |)raetical condition of the business. He says, " The same 

 remark aplies not only to codlisliing, but to all branches of the fishery; witliin the 

 past ten \ears, the consumers have iu'cn using fresh inste.-ul of salt lish. The salt 

 fish busiiiCNS on tlie eonlinent is virtually at ;iii end." He is sorry to say that he 

 states this (rom pr.iclieal knowledge of this business, lie llic'i goes on to s.iy that 

 fish is supplied to the great markets of the United States "Irom (iiooce.ster. Portland, 

 ami New S'oik ; but from Moston prineipally." " And the fish is sent where?" "'i'o 

 <'\ii-\ point west, all ii\cr the I'nioii; the lish is priiieipally boxed in ice."' Then 

 lie goes on lo stall- ti'al if the arrangeuuMils of the Trcvity of Washington should 

 become perni.incnt, instead ol' being limited a term of twflve years, with the new 

 railroad conimiinieation with this city that has been already opiMied. the result 

 will be to inaiu- llalilax the t;ri';U fisii-business centre of the continent ; that the 

 vessels w ill come in here w ith their fresh fish, instead of going to tJloucester, or Uoston, 

 or New York : tliat .i ;ire.it l)usin"ss. a great city, will he i)uilt np here ; and he says 

 that, nothwillistanding the Treaty is liable to i<'rminate in seven years, he is expect- 

 ing to put his own money into the business, ,iiid estaiilish himself in the fresh fish 

 business here. Onrowii witnesses — tjie witnesses for the I'nited States — have given 

 a fuller an! more detaded explanation of tlii.s change tliat has taken place in the 

 markets. It refpnres no explanation to sati>l'\ any persons, with the ordiiniry oi-gans 

 of t:isle, that oiiewhoc.an get fresh lish will not eat salt mackerel. lOverybody 

 knows liiat. Crcilr r.r/ivrlo. t)nr s^ilnesses le'l you that fresh lish is sent as iar as 

 the Mississip|)i. .•ind west of liie .Mississipjii, in as great abiiiidanee as is to be found 

 on the sea-lioard. It is just as i<asy to have I're.^h lish at (.'hieagu and St. I.oiiis, and 

 at an\ of the cities lying on lite railroad lines on(> or two iMimlred miles wist of the 

 Mississippi, .'IS it is to li.nve IVesh li-.h in IJoslon or l'liil;idel|>hia. It is only a (pies- 

 tion of paying the increased price of transpoi tation. Salt lish has to be transported 

 there .-ilso. and it costs as nuicl; to tran>p()il the salt lish as the fresh (ish, Tlie 

 result is, thai pi'ople will not and do not cat salt lish nearly as nnich l\^ formerly. 

 Then tin-re is ;i great snpplv ol lake herring — a kind of white fish— from the 

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